Lanjiang is a river located in Xingquan Prefecture. It flows from the mountains in the south to the northwest. The river is not too big, but due to the terrain, the water in most sections of the river is relatively fast, making it difficult to sail a boat, let alone crossing.
Jiang Li.
However, no matter how fast the river is, there will always be some sections where the water flow is relatively gentle and can be ferried across the river, and the Lanjiang River Ferry is such a place.
Moreover, this ferry is located on the official road between Zhengtai County and Xingquan Fucheng, because whether it is ordinary people traveling between Fucheng and Zhengtai or large armies marching, this Lanjiang Ferry is the best choice.
In addition to the Lanjiang Ferry, there are several other places upstream and downstream of the Lanjiang River suitable for crossing the river, but they are either too far away or the river area available for crossing is relatively small, making it difficult for large armies to pass.
Such a comparison reflects the military strategic status of Lanjiang Ferry.
It is precisely because of this that the Ming army chose to cross the river here, and that Li Xuan also chose to intercept the Ming army here.
When Li Xuan saw the Lanjiang River for the first time at noon that day, he finally understood why this unknown Lanjiang River was called a natural moat by Zeng Ziwen.
The Lanjiang River may not look big, but the water flow is extremely fast, and many boulders can be seen floating on the surface of the river, and there are probably many hidden reefs under the water.
If you use a big boat on this kind of river, you will hit a reef and capsize if you can't go more than 100 meters.
However, in the middle of such a fast river, there is a section of the river that is obviously wider, and the water flow is quite gentle. When you get closer, you can see that there is a small pier on the gentle river, with two small boats moored on the pier.
Next to the boat were several shivering boatmen.
"Your Majesty, a platoon of the forward troops has already crossed the river for an hour and found no trace of the puppet Ming rebels. Now as long as our army cuts off the ropeway on the river, it will be enough to prevent the enemy from crossing the river on a large scale in a short time.
River!" Fang Dongquan stepped forward and said: "Without the cableway, even if the puppet Ming rebels cut down trees to make rafts, it would not be that easy to cross the river!"
The ropeway on the river is a big chain. It is not used as a bridge for people to cross the river, but to pull the boats crossing the river. Without this ropeway, it is possible to cross the river, but it will definitely be difficult.
It needs to be enlarged very much.
Li Xuan immediately said: "Then why do you still keep the ropeway?"
Li Xuan was a little speechless. These subordinates were also convinced that such an important ropeway should be cut off immediately. Could it be that they were still waiting for the Ming army to use it to cross the river?
At this time, Fang Dongquan and Wang Shanxu looked at each other, and then Wang Shanxu said: "Your Majesty, I asked the forwards to keep the ropeway."
Li Xuan didn't have any unnecessary nonsense and just asked: "Reason?"
Wang Shanxu said: "If we cut off the ropeway now, the puppet Ming thieves will definitely notice that we have arrived in advance and will be greatly alert. By then, if we want to set up an ambush here, it may not be possible."
It’s easy, if we keep the ropeway, the puppet Ming rebels will relax their vigilance, and they will definitely send some forwards to use the ropeway to cross the river, and then we can conduct an ambush!"
After hearing this, Li Xuan did not answer immediately, nor did he continue to ask, but continued to observe the terrain of the Lanjiang Ferry.
In addition to the river, there is an open area on the bank of the Lanjiang Ferry. Although it is not big, it is not a problem to arrange troops and recruit thousands of people.
After this open land, there is a relatively low hillside with dense forests in the northwest direction.
To the southwest is a mountainous area, which is not suitable for fighting or hiding troops. To the west, although it is not an open area, it is not suitable for ambush.
If you want to ambush and conduct a sneak attack, the dense forest on the northwest hillside is your only option.
After thinking for a while, he turned his horse's head and said, "Let's go up and have a look!"
Regardless of whether there is an ambush or not, the surrounding terrain must be seen first. Only by seeing it in person can Li Xuan make the final decision.
Soon, Li Xuan took Wang Shanxu, Fang Dongquan and the others up to the small slope in the northwest, and then discovered that the forest area on the hillside was not large. At most, a hundred people could be hidden, and if there were more, they would be exposed.
But behind the hillside is a reverse slope, which is suitable for hiding a large number of troops. Since there is a reverse slope that can hide a large number of troops, the ropeway on the river will be left alone for an afternoon to see if it can attract the Ming army's forward to kill a small ambush.
After laying out the ambush, cut off the ropeway.
After looking at the dense forest on the hillside, Li Xuan led the people to the mountains in the southwest. The terrain here was even worse than he had expected. Not to mention the uneven mountains, there were also many strange-shaped rocks, not to mention
A large army has been deployed here, and people need to be careful even when walking here.
After looking at the surrounding terrain, Li Xuan compared the terrain at the Lanjiang Ferry in detail in his mind. Li Xuan pointed at the reverse slope behind the hillside with his riding crop and said: "Send the order and camp behind the hillside!"
Naturally, the army cannot foolishly station itself in an open area by the river, as this would expose every move it makes to the other party.
Although the dense forest on the hillside does not have much concealment effect for the army, the reverse slope is good. It can at least block the Ming army's reconnaissance on the other side of the river, making it impossible for them to know the reality of their own side.
The hard work of building camps is usually done by ordinary soldiers, but today is special. The Ming army is about to arrive, and those combat soldiers need to recover and maintain sufficient physical strength. Therefore, the combatants have begun to rest, and the work of building camps is
It was handed over to the baggage camp.
Although the soldiers in the supply camp are very tired now, they will not be used as the main force in the subsequent battles, so it does not hurt to use up more physical strength.
Li Xuan stationed himself in ambush on the west bank of the Lanjiang River ferry, preparing for a sneak attack by the Ming army. About five miles away on the east bank of the Lanjiang River, a Ming army of about 500 people was on its way.
The direction they were heading was straight to the Lanjiang Ferry!
Their speed was not too slow. In the afternoon, the supply camp on Li Xuan's side had just built the camp, and the combat soldiers who were sitting and resting had just eaten the lunch prepared by the cooks, when the Ming army appeared on the east bank of the Lanjiang River.
As soon as the Ming army appeared, it immediately attracted the attention of the scouts of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty who were hiding in the dense forest on the hillside, and soon passed the relevant news to Li Xuan.
Then Li Xuan led a group of senior officers up the hillside and secretly observed the Ming army on the opposite side. At first, there were only a few Ming soldiers, but soon there were dozens of them, and after a while, hundreds of them appeared.
There are so many, and the Ming army is still arriving later!
Seeing this scene, Li Xuan sighed secretly: They came so fast!